Chapter 11

The next morning, Yasuhara left early to go to the ward office to track down what information he could about the abandoned house that seemed to be the focus of the rumours among the kids. Mai looked tired and was a bit unsteady on her feet as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. It was late morning and she was surprised to find that she did manage to nap a touch during the night, though fitfully. While she hadn't noticed during the night, the dish rack was surprisingly full of tea cups and mugs. She couldn't help smiling as she remembered Naru's sigh as he silently accepted the cup she handed him at some point shortly before Yasuhara got up. Mai couldn't help wondering how many cups of tea she'd made for Naru during the course of the night, but she didn't have the courage to ask him.

Naru entered the kitchen just as she finished doing the dishes. He was wearing a long black rain coat and had his clipboard in his hand.

Mai cocked her head slightly when he looked at her.

"Mai, go get your coat. You and I are going to take a look at that abandoned house you mentioned yesterday," he said. "Make sure you bring a two-way radio from the base."

"Oka~y," Mai said as she hurried to get her things together to go out.

Lin glanced at her from where he sat in front of the monitors and watched as she grabbed her coat. "Taniyama-san," he said stopping her as she moved to leave the base.

Mai turned in surprise.

Lin held out a slip of Japanese rice paper. She saw the calligraphic brush strokes on the paper and couldn't help smiling as she realised he'd made her a new protective charm to replace the one that she kept with her train pass.

"Thank you, Lin-san," she said in delight.

Lin's expression softened ever so slightly as she carefully put the charm away. "Also..." he said quietly, stopping her again before she left the base.

Mai looked at him inquiringly as he pointed to one of the shelves. Mai turned and looked at the shelf and realised she'd almost left without grabbing the two-way radio Naru had told her to bring with her. She blushed slightly as she thanked Lin again, grabbed a handset, and quickly rushed out of the base.

Naru was waiting for her in the entranceway as she shrugged on her jacket. Naru sighed slightly and rapped her on the head with his clipboard as she slipped the two-way radio into her jacket pocket.

"What?!" she demanded as she rubbed her head.

Naru just gazed at her and she flushed. She realised he'd heard enough of the conversation in the base to realise she'd almost forgotten the two-way radio.

"...Nothing," he said after a long pause before he exited the house.

A few minutes later, Naru and Mai reached the abandoned house. Naru pulled out the digital thermometer and handed it to Mai. He jotted down the numbers as they proceeded to measure the temperature in certain key locations outside the house. After going around the house once, Naru tried the front door. As Mai had said, it was locked.

Mai led the way to the back door, but when he tried to open the door, he was surprised to find that it, too, was locked. "Eh?! You're kidding!" Mai exclaimed as she turned the handle and pulled trying to open the door. It wouldn't budge.

Naru sighed. "Let's check around the house again and see if there are any other ways inside," he said finally.

The two went around testing the storm panels but they were firmly in place. As they circled the house again, they found various snack wrappers and empty drink bottles around the verandah and every now and again, they would run across an empty sake jar, chu hai can, or beer bottle. Still, for being abandoned and without anyone to clean the place up, the litter wasn't all that bad, possibly because it was in such a remote location. They were also surprised to discover that, despite having been abandoned for a long time, none of the windows were broken.

Mai stared at the locked door confused. "I didn't lock it when I left yesterday," she said slowly. "I'm sure I didn't."

She heard Naru sigh again.

"And how would you propose to lock this door when you leave without a key, Taniyama-san?" he asked.

"Eh?" Mai looked at the door. It was like many other doors with a handle that stuck out and ran parallel to the ground. There was no keyhole on the handle itself which meant that the only lock was the deadbolt. She'd turned the handle herself only to find that the door wouldn't open because of that bolt.

"The only ways to keep that door from opening are to lock it either from the inside or with a key, barricade the door shut, or for some force to keep it from opening. As for this..." Naru's voice trailed away as he gazed at the door.

After staring at the door for a few moments longer, he suddenly turned on his heel and strode back towards the road. Surprised, Mai quickly trotted after him.

Naru paused at the walkway to the Nishimuras' house. "Mai, check and see if anyone's home at the house that was empty for the past two days," he said. "If they're home, see what they have to say about this area and any rumours they might've heard."

"Oka~y," Mai said as she turned to continue down the road. Naru watched her briefly before turning towards the Nishimura residence.

It was almost 4 P.M. by the time Yasuhara returned to the base. He paused the moment he stepped inside. Unlike the other times he'd been in the room, and despite the heat being on, the temperature inside felt like it was well below the freezing point. Yasuhara cocked his head to one side as he glanced about the room. Lin was sitting as he had been for most of the past few days watching over the monitors and working at the computer, while Naru was sitting at the low table flipping through the case file and various copies Yasuhara had given him.

"I'm... back..." he said a little uncertainly. "Ah, Lin-san, where's Taniyama-san?"

The instant he asked that question, he felt the temperature in the room fall another couple of degrees. 'I swear, I should investigate the strange temperature anomalies that seem to occur around the boss when he's in a bad mood,' he thought to himself idly.

Lin sighed inaudibly and glanced at Naru. "She went out to check on one of the houses in the area, but hasn't returned."

Yasuhara frowned slightly. "How long has she been gone?" he asked.

"...Over two hours, without checking in," he replied.

"That idiot. Doesn't she even know how to check in properly?" Naru muttered. "She knows we're going to pack things up once the final results are in today."

Yasuhara glanced at Lin. Lin shrugged slightly in response.

"Maybe she's still talking to whoever lives there?" Yasuhara suggested.

Naru looked at Yasuhara and asked, "How likely do you think it is for Mai to stay for over two hours at one house when inquiring about rumours in the area? Especially one where the occupant has been away for the past couple of days and is likely to be quite busy?"

Yasuhara considered the other possibilities. "It could be that she forgot to check in and decided to go around to all the houses she missed over the past few days," he suggested. "Or... maybe not." he said taking back his speculation.

Naru shook his head. "It's unlikely she'd miss reporting in multiply, and she definitely should've remembered to report in if she was planning on being out for an extended period." Naru sighed. "What did you find out, Yasuhara-san?"

"Ah, I went back to the ward office in Fushimi today. It's a good thing today's Monday. I wouldn't have been able to look things up if it were still the weekend," he said. "In any case, the last family to live in the abandoned house was the Sakamotos. They lived in the house for over 25 years. I looked up the family registry and found out that an old couple was living in the house when the husband died 37 years ago. I then searched for any other information about the wife in both the newspapers and in the community flyers when I found this." Yasuhara handed Naru a single photocopy. On it was a short obituary for Sakamoto Mayuko. She'd apparently passed away at the hospital after battling cancer for several months over 33 years ago.

Naru frowned. "What about previous owners?" he asked.

Yasuhara shook his head. "The house used to be owned by the Ishida family and was taken over by the Sakamotos when the younger son of the Ishida family married the eldest daughter of the Sakamoto family. Because the Sakamotos didn't have any sons, the younger son took his wife's name."

Yasuhara shrugged. "Essentially, that house has always been in the hands of one bloodline," he said.

Naru nodded. "In that case, we'll wait and see what Hirota-san has to say regarding any unusual incidents that may have happened while the Ishidas and Sakamotos lived there."

It was half an hour later when a tired and unkempt looking Hirota and Nakai Saki arrived at the base. Hirota glanced around slightly when he felt the chill atmosphere that seemed to be swirling about the base but decided against saying anything. Having already spent a number of days with the SPR members on the Agawa case, he'd already experienced the unusual chill that seemed to emanate from their boss when he was in a bad mood.

Nakai looked a bit confused at the tension, but decided to ignore it. "I'm very glad to see you again, Dr. Davis," she said with a smile.

Naru ignored her greeting and looked at Hirota. "I trust you have the information I asked you to look up," he said coldly.

Hirota nodded. "Nakai has all the information regarding this house," he commented before launching into his own report. "Otherwise, I went through the files looking for any incidents at the abandoned house across the street. You didn't exactly indicate what time frame you were interested in, so I concentrated around the time the house became vacant and earlier."

Hirota cleared his throat and flipped through his notes briefly before looking up. "There's nothing," he said simply.

Naru frowned, but before he could say anything biting, Hirota held up his hands. "I went through the files quite a ways from that time and earlier," he said. "But very little has ever happened at that house."

"The house became abandoned when the woman who lived there – Sakamoto Mayuko became terminally ill with cancer and died several months later in hospital," Hirota said as he launched into his explanation. "Before that, her husband passed away peacefully at that house some 37 years ago now. Before that, the Ishida family lived there. The eldest son got married and moved out while the younger son married the eldest daughter of the Sakamotos and took her last name. There's no mention of Ishida's parents living with them so presumably the eldest son took in his parents and cared for them when they got old. The Sakamoto parents apparently died in some sort of accident outside this city, so they never lived with their daughter. Oh, and the Sakamotos didn't have any children which is why no one's claimed this property since Sakamoto Mayuko passed away. For some reason, the property either wasn't claimed by, or didn't return to, the Ishidas."

Naru frowned; nothing in Hirota's or Yasuhara's report caught his attention as being particularly noteworthy about the abandoned house. He then shot a quick glance at Nakai. "About Katou Hiroshi, were there any major changes in his life recently?"

Nakai cocked her head slightly. "Is that relevant?"

"I wouldn't be asking if it weren't," Naru said coldly.

Nakai shrugged slightly. "A background check revealed that he was to be laid off in a few weeks time due to downsizing at his office. When we inquired with his manager and employer, they were generally positive about his work performance, and said that the decision to let him go was strictly an economic one. Katou himself said he was actively looking for a new position and had lined up a couple of interviews for after their trip to Kyoto."

Naru considered Nakai's information about Katou Hiroshi for a long moment, tapping his finger against the table before him.

Finally, losing her patience, Nakai cleared her throat, "So what do you think of this house, Doctor?" she asked.

Naru didn't bother looking at her as he answered, "There's nothing here."

Nakai gaped at him. "That can't be!" she exclaimed. "Not only were there so many murders and crimes, but a number of perpetrators have reported similar stories about suddenly finding themselves committing some crime. I managed to corner Det. Konishi and even he admitted that the crimes that happen in this area are strange and that the perpetrators often have some sort of memory blank or voices in the head. Are you telling me that it's all just a coincidence??"

Naru shrugged. "My agreement with Hirota-san was to do a preliminary investigation of this house in exchange for the return of my employee," Naru said coldly. "If something paranormal is in fact causing these people to commit crimes, whatever that something is isn't here in this place. Therefore it's beyond the scope of my investigation and my agreement with Hirota-san. I've more than upheld my end of the bargain. There have been no significant temperature fluctuations in this house and no signs of poltergeist activity of any kind. There hasn't even been any ionic fluctuations."

Naru sighed sounded thoroughly disgusted. "As expected, this investigation has been an utter waste of four days," he said. "I could've better used that time to complete my data analyses and worked on writing a paper from the last case rather than stay here."

Nakai stared at Naru stunned. After speaking with Konishi, she'd been convinced that something was definitely wrong in this house. Too many crimes had occurred here, so she was certain the spirits from those crimes must still be caught in the house and were causing the subsequent residents to repeat the events under similar circumstances.

"Did you even really look?!" she demanded. "You brought your office staff, but you didn't even have Hara Masako come in to take a look and see if there are any spirits here! Hell, are any of your office members even capable of seeing spirits?! What the hell sort of investigation is that?!"

"There are no spirits here, or at least none of any real interest. The only spirits I'm interested in are those that manifest in a clear and measurable manner. There's no point in claiming a spirit or even many spirits are present if there's no evidence to support that claim. You may as well call a person, who claims spirits to be present without showing evidence, delusional," Naru said impatiently. "Also, even if I were inclined to call Hara-san in, which I'm not, she's currently busy and unavailable."

Nakai's jaw dropped. As if what Naru had said to her on the last case weren't bad enough... "I don't understand you," she said grating out the words. "At the Agawas, you told me that my seeing a ghost was my imagination. Now, not only are you telling me that this place, where a number of violent incidents have occurred all with similar circumstances, isn't haunted, you're also suggesting I'm delusional?! I thought you were a paranormal researcher, Doctor. And yet, every time I speak to you, it's almost as bad as speaking to Hirota-kun at the height of his utter disbelief in the paranormal. You deny everything as though it didn't exist!"

A look of annoyance flickered across Naru's face. "I'm not interested in claiming everything that initially seems to be inexplicable as being due to the paranormal," he said quietly. "Just because something seems inexplicable doesn't mean that it truly is. Claiming something to be something it isn't does nobody any credit and would do nothing but call into question all the impartial data we've managed to collect to date. It would do nothing but harm my credibility as a scientific researcher."

Nakai's face was flushed in anger as she stood with fists clenched. "You're running away, aren't you?" she growled finally. "I don't believe it. You're not even looking to see what's causing things, and you're going to run away instead. What about the girl? There's a seven-year-old missing girl, too, you know?!"

Naru looked at her coldly. "I was told that the murder investigation and the missing child were being considered two completely different cases. As I was brought in to help with the murder investigation, I've had absolutely nothing to do with the other case."

"Don't you even care about what happened to that child?! She's only seven years old! You've had all the opportunity in the world to try and find out where she is and what's happened to her while you've been here, and you're telling me you haven't even done that?!"

"Nakai!" Hirota finally said reaching out to grab her arm. "That's enough."

Naru looked at Nakai with a cold, contemptuous smile. "I was unaware that I was required to do the police's job for them simply because they're too incompetent to take care of things themselves. I was forced to investigate this house and its connection with the murders that have occurred here. I was told that the missing child was likely unrelated to the murders and therefore beyond the scope of my investigation. I have completed my investigation within those limits, and I've determined there's nothing significant in this house. Therefore, my job here is done. That's all."

Naru glanced at Hirota. "I trust that meets with your approval and that you will maintain your side of the bargain, Hirota-san?"

Hirota nodded. "Yeah. While I'm with Nakai in thinking that something strange is happening here, I also agree with you that it doesn't involve this house. The information Yasuhara-san dug up only served to further illustrate that. We should've done more background research before calling you in and been more circumspect in what we wanted you to investigate. Perhaps we should've included the child's disappearance with your investigation," he commented ruefully.

Naru shook his head. "Given the current circumstances, including the child's disappearance into the scope of our investigation would've been out of the question." Naru turned to look at Lin and Yasuhara.

"Naru," Lin called quietly. "It's starting to get dark. What about Taniyama-san?"

"Try raising her on her handset," Naru ordered.

Lin looked at Naru. "I've already tried; she doesn't answer."

Naru frowned slightly. "Do a GPS search for her handset. It shouldn't take long to find her out here," he said.

Lin nodded as he turned back to his keyboard.

A couple minutes later, Lin had the GPS location for Mai's handset. It was only a few hundred metres away from their present location.

Naru looked at the handset's location and exhaled. "That idiot. Lin, come with me. Yasuhara-san, mind the base," he ordered as he grabbed a flashlight and his jacket and left the base.

Yasuhara and Lin glanced at one another briefly. Lin grabbed his coat and slipped it on before grabbing a second handset and another flashlight, then quickly followed Naru out.